The unit worked with Bill Marler, the preeminent food safety attorney in the country, to put together a watch list of items to look for while interpreting the reports.

Marler sued Jack In The Box in 1993 after an E. coli outbreak got more than 700 people sick.

He told 2News to look for these three items:

Dented cans, because they are a breeding ground for botulism,

Food temperatures. This is where food-borne bacteria can grow, and

Dirty equipment. We also kept our eyes open for schools who had high inspection scores (high scores mean you have more violations). Marler says a high score may include non-critical violations that won’t get people sick, but he says it does suggest a lack of attention to detail.

Beyond the Books found 10 schools that had dented cans, 35 schools that had dirty equipment issues, and 16 schools that had food temperature problems.